Medusa's Smile
by jaspertina
Summary: I'm reimagining the character of Medusa. Instead of being killed by Snow and Charming, she too was transported to Storybrooke where she has been living as a hermit for the past 28 years until the curse breaks. This is, to my mind, how Medusa was supposed to be represented.
1. Prologue

"You only have to look at the Medusa straight on to see her. And she's not deadly. She's beautiful and she's laughing." – Hélène Cixous

Prologue

It was on the day that magic came to Storybrooke, the day that I regained my memories, that I also regained my eyesight. After 28 years as the blind hermit who lived in the forest at the edge of town, I could finally see where the dark curse had taken me. I was sitting outside in front of my cabin, as I usually did that time of day. I loved how the air smells when evening approaches and enjoyed the tingling feeling of twilight on my skin. I had already sensed that something was afoot. Ever since that young woman came to town, the one they call the savior, things were gradually changing. It was as if the very air was changing. The first thing I saw with my awakening eyes was the color purple. It was a cloud of purple smoke coming out of the well, drifting towards the town. I knew it instantly for what it was. Magic. And I also knew what it meant. It meant that my peaceful and quiet days were coming to an end. I wanted nothing more than to remain here, hidden in my solitude. But I knew that it wouldn't be long now before they would come for me. They always did.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Red was walking through the forest on her way to make her weekly delivery to the woman living out in the woods. It had been weeks since the curse was broken, but Anthea, that was the woman's name, her Storybrooke name, was still keeping to herself. Red hadn't yet been able to figure out who Anthea was before the curse. Though it wasn't for a lack of trying. Always curious about other people's lives, Red had peppered Anthea with questions, but the woman simply evaded answering them. Red wasn't about to give up, however. For some reason she was fascinated with the woman. For one, she was beautiful. She was tall and almost impossibly poised in her movements. Regina was elegant and sophisticated, but Anthea was of a different order entirely. Although she looked like she was in her late thirties, there was something timeless about her. Ancient even. And there was something else that intrigued Red. She had a distinct feeling that Anthea had regained her eyesight after the curse broke. But she continued to wear her sunglasses and using her cane as if she wanted to keep pretending she was blind.

When Red arrived at the cabin she found Anthea sitting out front as usual. And as usual, she was breathtaking. Red stopped for a moment to gaze at the woman in front of her. She was wearing simple clothes. Linen pants and a cotton shirt in sand colors. Red looked at the woman's bare arms and her hands leaning on her cane. The deep tones of her ebony skin were glowing in the evening sun. And her wild mane of black hair looked almost alive. "Hello Ruby," she said in a warm voice.

"I told you, it's Red now," Red replied, "though I guess it doesn't matter. Most people in town still call me Ruby." Smiling mischievously she asked, "How did you know it was me?"

"Who else would it be?" Anthea asked in return, giving Red an enigmatic smile of her own.

There was always a calm and soothing scent around Anthea. Like earth and stone. Red breathed in the cool scented air and stepped forward. "I brought your usuals."

"Thank you, my dear."

Red put the basket with bread, cheese and vegetables down on the ground at Anthea's feet and sat down on the bench next to her. They sat together in silence for a few minutes until Anthea spoke. "Full moon tomorrow," she said. This startled Red. She wondered how much the woman knew about her. As far as she knew, Anthea didn't talk to anyone in town except her. But she seemed to know things nonetheless. And how did she know the full moon was coming if she couldn't see?

"Yeah," Red said tentatively, deciding to just go along with it instead of blindsiding the woman with questions as she normally did. Maybe this way she could find out how just much Anthea really knew. "I guess I'll have to wear my cloak tomorrow," she said, watching the woman sitting beside her, assessing her reactions, "It's a good thing I got it back."

Anthea nodded, "The cloak that keeps you from turning into the wolf."

Red didn't know what surprised her more. That the woman knew about her being a werewolf, or that she was talking about it so freely!

"You know?" she asked, too stunned to keep her resolve not to ask too many questions.

"I hear things," Anthea said simply.

Feeling emboldened by the woman's unusual talkativeness, Red decided to push her luck. "Why do you wear those sunglasses, Anthea? I know you can see." She almost held her breath in anticipation. But once again, Anthea simply avoided answering the question. Yet Red felt that something was different this time. Although she wasn't answering the question, Anthea didn't seem to want to end the conversation altogether. "You've hurt people you love," she said.

It was neither question nor judgment. It was a simple statement.

"Yeah, I killed my boyfriend, Peter."

Anthea nodded again. "But you found a way to keep yourself from hurting others."

"My Granny gave me the cloak..."

They were silent again. But this time the wheels were turning in Red's mind. After what seemed like a long time, something clicked in her head. "Is that why you wear the glasses?" she asked, "Is it a protection like my cloak?"

"You're a smart woman."

"I don't know about that." Red said, exhaling the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. The air around the two women was almost crackling with energy. "Who were you, Anthea? Before the curse?" Red asked, unable to keep the excitement from her voice.

Again Anthea was silent for a moment. Then she finally said, as if quoting a poem:

"But brave Aconteus, Perseus' friend, by chance  
Look'd back, and met the Gorgon's fatal glance:  
A statue now become, he ghastly stares,  
And still the foe to mortal combat dares."

Red just stared at her. She felt as if Anthea had just given her something precious, although she had no idea what it meant. Before she could ask anything else, however, Anthea got up, took the basket, and turned to go inside. She paused at the door and turned back towards Red for a moment. "When you found out about the wolf inside of you, were you afraid?"

"Terrified."

Anthea gave another sad smile before she went inside the cabin. Red was left sitting on the bench alone, feeling suddenly bereft at the other woman's absence. She wondered what had just happened.

* * *

The moment Red got back to the diner she ran straight up to her room, ignoring the questions Granny was shouting after her. She dug up her laptop and switched it on. She went to sit on the bed and started tapping her fingers on the computer impatiently while waiting for it to start up. As soon as she was online, she typed in the search terms "Gorgon's fatal glance." It was the only thing she could remember from what Anthea had told her. She clicked on the first link that popped up and saw that it was a phrase from Ovid's _Metamorphoses_. It was about... Medusa! Red gasped as she read the name. _Medusa!_ Red's head was spinning. _That is insane!_ she thought. But it made complete sense. That's why she was wearing the sunglasses, so nobody could look her in the eyes.

"Holy crap!" she said out loud, "That is fucking awesome!" She imagined Anthea's hair coming alive and the terrifying gaze that would lie behind the glasses and she felt a shiver going down her spine.

She closed her laptop again and sat staring in front of her for a while. Then she remembered that Snow had told her about her and Charming facing Medusa once, and how they had barely made it out alive. In Snow's story Medusa had been a monster though. But Red could never see Anthea that way. She would have to keep this a secret, Red thought. Because as soon as people found out that Medusa was hiding in the woods they would have another mob on their hands. And Red had had enough first-hand experience with mobs to want to avoid that particular scenario at all costs. She didn't know why Anthea, Medusa, had trusted her. Perhaps because there was no one else in town she talked to. But she knew that she would protect this woman if it came to that. There was a lot of crazy shit happening in this town. She saw no reason why a werewolf couldn't be friends with a woman who turned people into stone.


End file.
